What Is TDEE and How Do You Calculate It?

TDEE stands for Total Daily Energy Expenditure — the total number of calories your body burns in a day. It's the single most useful number for setting a calorie target, because weight loss happens when you eat below it.

The components of TDEE

TDEE is your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) — the calories you'd burn at complete rest — multiplied by an activity factor that accounts for movement and exercise. BMR is commonly estimated with the Mifflin-St Jeor equation using your age, sex, height, and weight.

How to calculate it

Estimate BMR, then multiply: about 1.2 for sedentary, 1.375 for light activity, 1.55 for moderate, and 1.725 for very active. Our free calorie calculator does this for you in seconds.

Using TDEE to lose weight

Eat roughly 500 calories below your TDEE for about a pound of loss per week. MyDietJourney calculates your personalized budget automatically and updates it as your weight changes — so you always know how many calories you have left today.